Eclipse

A squeal made him freeze. A kit was in pain. Pricking his ears, he recognized Toadkit’s wailing mew. He turned and dashed toward the den entrance just as Daisy raced in. He smelled fear on her pelt and felt the lash of a flailing paw as she hurried past him. She must be carrying Toadkit by the scruff.

“Put him by the pool,” he ordered.

“He was chasing a bee and jumped straight into the nettle patch,” Daisy panted after setting down Toadkit.

“Dumb bee!” Toadkit yowled.

Jaypaw felt a wave of relief. Nettle stings! From the fuss he was making Jaypaw thought Toadkit had been savaged by a fox.

“Firestar should get those nettles pulled up,” Daisy complained. “I knew they’d be trouble one day.”

“Nettles aren’t deadly.” Jaypaw began sniffing Toadkit. A

small paw swiped him across the muzzle. The young kit was twisting and fidgeting, trying to lick at his stings at the same time as he rubbed his nose with his paw. “Sit still!”

“But it hurts!” Toadkit complained.

His kit-soft pelt would have been no defense against the nettles’ stinging barbs, and Jaypaw could feel heat pulsing from Toadkit’s nose and ears, where the exposed skin had already swollen.

“I’ll fetch some dock leaves,” Jaypaw told him.

Daisy was anxiously circling her kit, and, as he dashed toward the medicine store, Jaypaw tripped over her tail. He stumbled to a clumsy halt at the store entrance and reached into the crack in the rock. Grabbing a pawful of dock leaves from where he knew they were stored beside the mallow, he gave them a quick sniff to make sure he had the right herb before chewing them into a pulp. The dock juice would work quickly on Toadkit’s injuries as long as it got a chance to sink into his fur.

Still chewing, he returned to the wriggling kit and spat the ointment onto his paw, ready to rub it onto the kit’s ears.

Instinctively, Toadkit shied away. “Don’t touch me!” He swiped at the pulp, sending it flying into the pool. Jaypaw heard it drop into the water with a plop. Seething with frustration, he turned back to the pile of dock leaves. “The quicker I treat it, the sooner it’ll stop hurting.” He collided with Daisy, still pacing around her kit. For StarClan’s sake! “Go check on Rosekit!” he snapped. “You don’t want her ending up in the nettles too. I’ll take care of Toadkit.” He flicked his tail.

“If he can sit still!”

“Are you sure he’ll be okay?” Daisy fretted.

Jaypaw took a deep breath. Staying calm is good for you and better for the patient. Leafpool’s words rang in his ears. “No cat has died of nettle stings yet,” he mewed through gritted teeth.

“Try to sit still, dear,” Daisy begged Toadkit as she padded out of the den. “I’ll be back to check on you as soon as I know Rosekit’s okay.”

“Don’t hurry!” Jaypaw muttered under his breath. He crouched to chew another mouthful of dock, then hurried back to Toadkit and began to lick the pulp onto his ears.

Toadkit tried to duck away, but Jaypaw pressed his shoulders to the ground with his forepaws.

“Hold still,” he mumbled between licks. Toadkit yowled, but Jaypaw continued until they were coated with bitter juice.

“I know it hurts,” he mewed, releasing the kit. “But you’re not in any danger. Stay there while I fetch some more for your nose.”

As Jaypaw turned away, he sensed anger flash in Toadkit’s mind. Fur brushed the medicine cat den floor. Toadkit was lunging for his tail!

Jaypaw spun around quickly. “Don’t you dare!”

Toadkit yelped in alarm as Jaypaw faced him, so close their whiskers were touching.

“H-how did you know what I was doing?” Toadkit squeaked.

Jaypaw narrowed his eyes. “I’m not as blind as you think.”

Toadkit backed away. “I’m sorry.”

“Now are you going to sit still?” Jaypaw demanded.

“Yes,” Toadkit murmured.

Feeling a pang of guilt for frightening the kit, Jaypaw fetched another mouthful of pulp. This time he dropped it in front of Toadkit. “Spread this on your pads, then rub it into your nose and over your mouth,” he ordered.

Jerkily, Toadkit smeared the pulp onto his stings. Jaypaw sensed his pain ease. The dock juice was working. Relieved, he fetched more pulp and helped Toadkit to rub it over his pelt until, between them, they had coated every sting. I’ll give Daisy a poppy seed when she gets back. She can give it to Toadkit before bedtime so he’ll sleep through the itching.

Brambles rustled. Jaypaw scented the air. Leafpool had returned, and she was carrying catmint.

“Daisy told me you’ve been stung.” Leafpool dropped her bundle and padded over to Toadkit.

Jaypaw heard her sniffing as she checked him over. “Good job, Jaypaw,” she pronounced. “Just the right amount of dock.”

Jaypaw wondered whether to tell her what a difficult patient Toadkit had been.

“You should give him a small poppy seed,” Leafpool advised, “just to make sure the stings don’t keep him awake tonight.